Pit Tips

Larry Demarco >> Chicago, IL If you’re looking for a little extra engine-cranking power, replace the NiMH batteries in your starter box with high-capacity LiPo batteries. You’ll need to invest in a Li-poly charger to charge the batteries, but it is well worth the cost because the batteries provide more voltage, and they do not discharge when not in use. Just remember to disconnect the batteries before storing the starter box.

After tires, inserts and rims are all glued together, there often isn’t a way to tell your various combos apart. When you finish putting a set together, write the insert’s firmness, the tire’s compound and the offset of the rim on each rim. This is a 53-compound tire with a medium insert on a 2mm offset rim.

Even if you drive an electric car, always keep fuel line in your toolbox. Besides its intended use, fuel line can be cut to any length to make bushings, spacers and wire insulators, and it can be used for many quick-fix remedies at the track.

If you want your tires to stick securely to chrome rims, you must thoroughly remove the rims’ shiny surfaces (unless you have the latest Pro-Line chrome rims). Use an eye dropper or a rolled scrap of Lexan to funnel a little lacquer thinner around the rim. This will soften the chrome plating enough for you to wipe it away. Be sure to work in a well-ventilated area.

A short piece of fuel tubing with a screw on each end makes a perfect container to store 5/64 to 3/32-inch diff balls. Squeeze some diff fluid inside the tubing before you insert the diff balls, and then you’ll be able to squeeze out one lubed diff ball at a time for easier diff building.

Sanding graphite parts can make a real mess, and it isn’t healthy to breathe in the particles. You should always wear a mask, but you can cut down on the mess by sanding the parts while holding them under running water. The water will carry away the graphite powder and prevent it from getting on your hands and traveling through the air. Mike HerpenTabernacle,